Moveable Vehicle Armrest Assembly

ABSTRACT

A vehicle includes an armrest and a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly supports the armrest and is rotatable between extended and collapsed positions. The hinge assembly includes a pin configured to move between locked and released positions. When the pin is in the locked position, the hinge assembly is locked in the extended position. When the pin is in the released position, the pin is configured to permit rotation of the hinge assembly toward the collapsed position.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to vehicle door assemblies.

BACKGROUND

During vehicle impact, maintaining interior cabin space may bedesirable. To maintain vehicle interior cabin space, it is known toconstruct a moveable armrest. Upon impact, the moveable armrest mayyield or deform. Typically once deformed the door panel and armrestcannot be reset. Thus, a false-positive actuation of the moveablearmrest is less than ideal: the entire door assembly may have to bereplaced.

SUMMARY

A vehicle includes door panels, an armrest, and a hinge assembly. Thehinge assembly is disposed between the door panels and supports thearmrest. Comprised of a hinge member and a pin, the hinge assembly hasan axis of rotation. A pin receiving portion is defined through thehinge member along the axis of rotation. Disposed within the pinreceiving portion, the pin has a locking portion and a releasingportion. The pin is configured to move through the pin receiving portionand between the locked and released positions.

The locking portion engages the hinge member within the pin receivingportion. The engagement between the locking portion of the pin and thehinge member locks the armrest in place. This defines a locked position.The releasing portion permits the hinge member to rotate about the axis.Rotation about the axis collapses the armrest toward the interior trimof the door panel. This defines a released position.

A door assembly includes an armrest and a hinge assembly. The hingeassembly includes a pin. The pin has a locked and a released position.Configured to move between the locked and the released positions, thepin slides through the hinge assembly. The locked position of the pinlocks the hinge assembly in an extended position. The released positionallows the hinge assembly to rotate into a collapsed position. The hingeassembly supports the armrest. Therefore, when the hinge assembly islocked in the extended position, the armrest is also locked in theextended position. Likewise, when the hinge assembly is in the collapsedposition, the armrest is also in the collapsed position.

The vehicle door assembly may also include a biasing member. The biasingmember may be disposed proximate the armrest and may be connected to thehinge assembly. Movement of the pin toward the released positioncompresses the biasing member. Compressing the biasing member opposespin movement toward the released position, pushing the pin from thereleased position toward the locked position. Moving from the releasedposition to the locked position may rotate the hinge assembly from thecollapsed position to the extended position. Rotating from the collapsedposition to the extended position resets the armrest.

A door assembly includes door panels, an armrest, and a hinge assembly.Disposed between the door panels supporting the armrest, the hingeassembly includes a hinge member defining a pin-receiving portion. Thehinge assembly further includes a pin. The pin has a first portion and asecond portion. The first portion of the pin, configured to engage thepin-receiving portion, locks the hinge member and armrest in place.

The second portion of the pin, configured to float within thepin-receiving portion, permits the hinge member and the armrest torotate. The armrest, supported by the hinge assembly, is rigid when inthe locked position. Further, the armrest is collapsed toward theinterior of the door panel when in the released position.

Embodiments disclosed herein may provide a number of advantages. Forexample, the armrest and hinge assembly may be reset such that thearmrest and hinge assembly may be reused after an impact

The above advantage and other advantages and features of the presentdisclosure will be readily apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in connection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle door assembly.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a hinge assembly in the extended position.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hinge assembly in the collapsed position.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an armrest and the hinge assembly.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the armrest and the hinge assembly inthe extended position.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the armrest and the hinge assembly inthe collapsed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various featuresof the present invention are illustrated and described with reference toany one of the Figures and may be combined with features illustrated inone or more other Figures to produce embodiments of the presentdisclosure that are not explicitly illustrated or described. Thecombinations of features illustrated provide representative embodimentsfor typical applications. However, various combinations andmodifications of the features consistent with the teachings of thepresent disclosure may be desired for particular applications orimplementations.

During impact, maintaining interior cabin space may be desirable asmentioned above. This may be achieved using a conventional collapsiblearmrest responsive to sensors. The use of sensors, however, may increasethe likelihood of false-positive readings based on the sensitivity ofthe sensors. Also, sensors may add cost and complexity to themanufacturing process. Moreover once collapsed, such an armrest cannotbe reset. That is, the armrest may not be returned to its pre-impactposition. As such, it must be replaced during repair.

Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 is shown having a door assembly 12including a door panel 14 and an armrest 16 that moves upon impact andmay be reset after impact. The armrest 16 thus provides for moreinterior cabin space during impact. Additional cabin space allows moreroom for airbags and other safety devices. Further, in the case of aslight or accidental impact with the vehicle door assembly 12, thearmrest 16 may be reused as opposed to replaced. Instead of replacingthe entire door assembly 12, the armrest 16 may relock and be useableunder normal operating conditions.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a hinge assembly 20 used to collapse andextend the armrest 16 is described. The hinge assembly 20 has an axis ofrotation 22 and includes a hinge member 24 defining a pin receivingportion 26, and a pin 28. The pin 28 fits into the pin receiving portion26 and is configured to slide along the axis of rotation 22. As the pin28 slides through the pin receiving portion 26, the hinge assembly 20moves between a locked position 30 and a released 32 position. Thelocked position 30 corresponds to a locking portion 34 of the pin 28.When the locking portion 34 engages the hinge member 24 within the pinreceiving portion 26, the locking portion 34 locks the hinge member 24and the armrest 16 in place.

Having a cross-sectional area substantially equal to the cross-sectionalarea of the pin receiving portion 26, the locking portion 34 engages thehinge member 24. In FIG. 2, the locking portion 34 may have a squarecross-section. Likewise, the pin-receiving portion 26 may have acomplementary square cross-section fitting around the locking portion34. Engagement between the hinge member 24 and the locking portion 34 ofthe pin 28 prevents rotation of the hinge member 24. Preventing rotationof the hinge member 24 makes the hinge assembly 20 stationary. When thehinge assembly 20 is stationary, the armrest 16 is locked in place. Thisallows the armrest 16 to be operable under normal operating conditions.The relationship between the hinge member 24, the locking portion 34 ofthe pin 28, and the pin receiving portion 26 is depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 depicts the released position 32. The released position 32corresponds to a released portion 36 of the pin 28. Having across-sectional area substantially less than the cross-sectional area ofthe pin receiving portion 26, the released portion 36 does not engagethe hinge member 24. For example as depicted in FIG. 3, the releasedportion 36 may have a circular cross-section. The circular cross-sectionof the released portion 36 would not engage with the squarecross-section of the pin receiving portion 26. By not engaging the hingemember 24, the released portion 36 allows the hinge member 24 to rotateabout the axis of rotation 22. Therefore, as the pin 28 slides axiallyalong the pin receiving portion 26, the hinge assembly 20 rotates fromthe locked position 30 to the released position 32. Being able to freelyrotate about the axis of rotation 22, the hinge assembly 20 collapsestoward the door assembly 12 creating more space in the interior cabin ofthe vehicle 10.

Referring to FIG. 4, the armrest 16 and a hinge assembly 20 is provided.The hinge assembly 20 supports the armrest 16 and includes a hingemember 24 defining a pin receiving portion 26, and a pin 28. The pinreceiving portion 26 receives the pin 28 and allows the pin 28 to slideaxially along an axis of rotation 22. The pin 28 has two portions. Thefirst portion 34, when received by the pin receiving portion 26, engagesthe hinge member 24. Engagement between the hinge member 24 and the pinreceiving portion 26 causes the hinge assembly 20 to be rigid. When thehinge assembly 20 is rigid, the armrest 16 is in a locked position 30defined by the pin 28. When in the locked position 30, the armrest 16 iscapable of supporting an occupant arm (not shown) during normaloperation of the vehicle 10.

Unlike the first portion 34, the second portion 36 of the pin 28 doesnot engage the hinge member 24. The second portion 36, when received bythe pin receiving portion 26, allows the hinge member 24 to rotatefreely about the axis of rotation 22. When the hinge member 24 rotatesabout the axis 22, the armrest 16 collapses. This defines a releasedposition 32. When in the released position 32, the armrest 16 moves awayfrom a vehicle occupant's body (not shown). Sliding between the first 34and second 36 portions from the locked 30 to the released 32 positionsis a response to an activation signal. The activation signal may beprompted by an impact with the vehicle door assembly 12.

Engagement between the hinge member 24 and the first portion 34 may bedependent on a shape. For example as depicted in FIG. 4, the pinreceiving portion 26 may be defined as a square. Similarly the firstportion 34 may have a complementary square shape. FIG. 4 also depictsthe relationship between the pin receiving portion 26 of the hingemember 24 and the second portion 36 of the pin 28. As an example, FIG. 4depicts the pin receiving portion 26 as square and the second portion 36of the pin 28 as circular. These examples are merely illustrative andnot definitive. For example, the first portion 34 may be circular andthe second portion 36 may be square. Also, the first portion 34 may behexagonal and the second portion 36 may be circular. The shape of thepin portions 34, 36 may also be adjusted to promote varying degrees ofrotation. For example, if it were advantageous to rotate the armrest45°, the shape of the pin portions 34, 36 could be adjusted toaccommodate that degree.

As an object impacts the door panel assembly 12, a contact plate 38moves in an inward direction. The inward movement of the contact plate38 causes an activation signal to be sent to an actuation mechanism 40.The actuation mechanism 40 may be any stored energy device, or morespecifically a transducer. As an example, the transducer may be asolenoid 42. Attached to the pin 28, the actuation mechanism 40 forcesthe pin 28 to slide through the pin receiving portion 26 of the hingemember 24. As the pin 28 slides, the first portion 34 disengages fromthe hinge member 24 moving the second portion 36 within the pinreceiving portion 26. For example using a solenoid 42 as the actuationmechanism 40, movement of the contact plate 38 in an inward directioncompletes the circuit and actuates the solenoid 42. Once the circuit iscomplete and the solenoid 42 is actuated, the stroking pin 44 of thesolenoid 42 acts against the pin 28 sliding the pin 28 through the pinreceiving portion 26 of the hinge member 24. As the pin 28 slides, thefirst portion 34 disengages from the hinge member 24 and the hingemember 24 rotates about the axis 22.

FIG. 4 further depicts a biasing member 46. The biasing member 46 may bedisposed at any point in which it acts on the pin 28 and against theactuation mechanism 40. For example, the biasing member 46 may bedisposed between the pin 28 and the actuation mechanism 40. Further, thebiasing member 46 may be disposed with the pin 28 between the biasingmember 46 and the actuation mechanism 40. After the actuation mechanism40 forces the pin 28 through the pin receiving portion 26, the biasingmember 46 compresses. As the biasing member 46 compresses, it acts onthe pin 28 pushing the pin 28 back through the pin receiving portion 26of the hinge member 24. The second portion 36 slides through the pinreceiving portion 26 and the first portion 34 re-engages the hingemember 24 within the pin receiving portion 26. When the first portion 34re-engages the hinge member 24, the hinge member 24 rotates back intothe locked position 30. The biasing member 46 allows the armrest 16 andhinge assembly 20 to be resettable. This may be advantageous as iteliminates the need for a sensor. By not using a sensor, the armrest 16and the hinge assembly 20 are more easily manufactured and implemented,and less likely to be affected by sensor false-positive readings.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, an armrest 50 and hinge assembly 52 isprovided. FIG. 5 shows the armrest 50 and hinge assembly 52 in anextended position 54. FIG. 6 shows the armrest 50 and hinge assembly 52in the collapsed position 56. The extended 54 and collapsed 56 positionsare defined by the relationship between a hinge member 58 and a pin 60,comprising the hinge assembly 52. The hinge member 58 defines a pinreceiving portion 62. The pin 60 slides through the pin receivingportion 62 along an axis 64. As the pin 60 slides along the axis 64 thehinge member 58 engages the pin at two positions, a locked position 66and a released position 68. When the locked position 66 is within thepin-receiving portion 62, the pin 60 engages the hinge member 58. Thecross-sectional area of the locked position 66 complements thecross-sectional area of the pin receiving portion 62. This allows thepin 60 to prevent the hinge member 58 from rotating about the axis 64,securing the hinge member 58 in the extended position 54. Thisarrangement is depicted in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows the relationship betweenthe locked position 66 and the pin receiving portion 62 as squarecomplements. The relationship between the locked position 66 and the pinreceiving portion 62 could also be circular or hexagonal complements.

The second position of the pin 60 is the released position 68. Thereleased position 68 has a cross-sectional area substantially less thanthe cross-sectional area of the pin receiving portion 62. This allowsthe pin 60 to float within the hinge member 58. When the pin 60 floats,the hinge member 58 is rotatable about the axis 64. As the hinge member58 rotates, the armrest 50 moves toward the interior of the vehicle door(not shown) creating more interior cabin space. This rotation definesthe collapsed position 56 and is shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 depicts therelationship between the released position 68 and the pin receivingportion 62 as circular to square. This relationship could also includevarying shapes such as square to hexagonal, or square to circular,respectively.

A transducer 70 is engaged with the pin 60 and the vehicle door (notshown). Upon an impact with the vehicle door, the transducer 70 isactuated. Once actuated, the transducer 70 engages the pin 60 causingthe pin 60 to slide through the pin receiving portion 62. This moves thepin 60 from the locked 66 position to the released 68 position. As thetransducer 70 slides the pin 60 from the locked 66 to the released 68position, the pin 60 disengages from the hinge member 58. Therefore,actuation of the transducer 70 moves the pin 60 along the axis 64 fromthe locked position 66 to the released position 68 and simultaneouslythe hinge assembly 52 from the extended 54 to the collapsed 56 position.The transducer 70 may be any stored energy device, for example asolenoid.

The transducer 70 is actuated using a contact plate 72. Connected to thetransducer 70, the contact plate 72 is disposed within the vehicle doorassembly. An impact with the vehicle door assembly moves the contactplate 72 inward. Inward movement of the contact plate 72 actuates thetransducer 70. Referring to the solenoid example, when the contact plate72 moves inwardly it completes an electrical circuit. Once the circuitis complete, the solenoid is actuated, and the pin 60 moves through thepin receiving portion 62. The contact plate 72 arrangement may be usedwith any stored energy device. As a further example, the contact plate72 may be used to actuate a pneumatic transducer 70. In this example,inward movement of the contact plate 72 would force an incompressiblenon-freezing fluid through the pneumatic line actuating the pneumatictransducer 70. Using a contact plate 72 instead of a sensor helps toeliminate any false-positive actuation of the transducer 70. The sensormay give a false reading based on movement that may not cause an impactwith the vehicle door assembly. The contact plate 72, however, istriggered simultaneously with an impact with the vehicle door assembly.Providing a near simultaneous collapse of the armrest 50 eliminates theproblem of a false actuation.

A biasing member 74 is oppositely engaged with the transducer 70. Afterthe transducer 70 strikes the pin 60, the biasing member 74 iscompressed. As the biasing member 74 is compressed, it acts oppositelyfrom the transducer 70. It pushes on the pin 60 to slide the pin 60 backthrough the pin receiving portion 62. The biasing member 74 moves thepin 60 from the released position 68 to the locked position 66. Whenmoved from the released position 68 to the locked position 66, the pin60 reengages the hinge member 58. This reengagement allows the armrest50 and the hinge member 58 to rotate from the collapsed position 56 tothe extended position 54. The biasing member 74 allows the hingeassembly 52 to be resettable.

Allowing the hinge assembly 52 to be reset accounts for errors that mayhave falsely actuated the transducer 70. Further, the reset feature ofthe door accounts for minor impacts that may not have damaged the door.When a minor impact actuates the transducer 70, the biasing member 74allows the hinge assembly 52 to move back into the extended position 54.This saves time, cost, and manufacturing expenses. And, the entirevehicle door need not be replaced after impact.

Although certain examples have been described, those familiar with theart will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments withinthe scope of the following claims. And although various embodiments mayhave been described as providing advantages or being preferred overother embodiments with respect to one or more desired characteristics,as one skilled in the art is aware, one or more characteristics may becompromised to achieve desired system attributes, which depend on thespecific application and implementation. These attributes include, butare not limited to: cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost,marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight,manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. The embodiments discussedherein that are described as less desirable than other embodiments areprior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristicsare not outside the scope of the disclosure and may be desirable forparticular applications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: door panels; an armrest;and a hinge assembly disposed between the panels and supporting thearmrest, the hinge assembly having an axis of rotation and including ahinge member defining a pin receiving portion about the axis, and a pinincluding a locking portion and a releasing portion disposed within thepin receiving portion and configured to move between locked and releasedpositions, the locking portion being configured to engage the pinreceiving portion to lock the hinge member and armrest in place when thepin is in the locked position, and the releasing portion beingconfigured to permit the hinge member and armrest to rotate about theaxis when the pin is in the released position to increase cabin space inthe vehicle.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the hinge assemblyfurther includes a transducer arranged to move the pin from the lockedposition to the released position in response to an activation signal.3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the transducer is a solenoid.
 4. Thevehicle of claim 2 wherein the transducer comprises a contact platedisposed adjacent the door panels and movable in an inward direction inresponse to the activation signal such that inward movement of thecontact plate actuates the transducer.
 5. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the hinge assembly further includes a spring arranged to opposemovement of the pin from the locked position to the released position.6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of the lockingportion is greater than the cross-sectional area of the releasingportion.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a shape of the pin receivingportion is a complement of a shape of the locking portion.
 8. A vehicledoor comprising: an armrest; and a hinge assembly supporting the armrestand rotatable between extended and collapsed positions, and including apin configured to move between locked and released positions, to lockthe hinge assembly in the extended position when in the locked position,and to permit rotation of the hinge assembly toward the collapsedposition when in the released position to move the armrest.
 9. Thevehicle door according to claim 8 further comprising a biasing memberproximate the armrest and connected to the hinge assembly, whereinmovement of the pin to the released position actuates the biasing membersuch that the biasing member opposes the movement of the pin to thereleased position.
 10. The vehicle door of claim 8, wherein the hingeassembly further includes a transducer arranged to move the pin from thelocked position to the released position in response to an activationsignal.
 11. The vehicle door of claim 10, wherein the transducer is asolenoid.
 12. A door assembly comprising: door panels; an armrest; and ahinge assembly disposed between the panels and configured to support thearmrest, the hinge assembly including a hinge member defining a pinreceiving portion and a moveable pin having a first portion configuredto engage the pin receiving portion to lock the hinge member and armrestin place and a second portion configured to float within the pinreceiving portion to permit the hinge member and arm rest to rotateabout the pin.
 13. The door assembly according to claim 12 furthercomprising an actuation mechanism having a first end arranged proximatean outer wall of one of the door panels and a second end arrangedadjacent the pin such that deformation of the outer wall causes theactuation mechanism to move the pin.
 14. The door assembly according toclaim 13 wherein the actuation mechanism is a transducer.
 15. The doorassembly according to claim 12 further comprising a biasing memberarranged to oppose movement of the pin.
 16. The door assembly accordingto claim 15 wherein the biasing member is a spring.